Arcane: Placebo

"I'm okay"

The one where: Vi finally lets her guard down

Featuring: Vi, Y/N

Happens around: After Act 3

Here we go!

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Amongst the dense fog that plagued Zaun that night, a young set of footsteps hurried back home, with tears falling from her cheek every now and then

Things had gotten from bad to worse to nearly impossible in minutes. Vi had planned to surrender herself to the Enforcers, only for Vander and her brother to step in

But then Silco appeared, accompanied by a monster that tore the Piltovans to shreds with brutal force and speed. He took Benzo's life, knocked Y/N unconscious, and took Vander away

As soon as Y/N regained consciousness, he and Ekko freed Vi from that room Vander locked her in and were now on their way to get the others

However, Vi could hardly muster the strength to keep going. She stopped running to rest on a wall nearby

Her breath was erratic, with the memory of what happened still fresh in her mind, and her heart breaking at all that just took place

Shortly after, another set of footsteps joined her. Y/N's

Y/N: Vi? What's wrong?

She forced herself to swallow her sorrow as her eyes shot open, and after exhaling sharply, his sister turned to face him with teary eyes

"I'm okay"

...

Years later, inmate 516 was violently thrown to the cold concrete floor, quickly forming a pool of her own blood as she did

Before her stood a grinning guard, with a metal bar in his hands. Slightly dented

Guard: This better be the last time you try to play hero, girly

He tapped his open palm with the other end of his weapon

Guard: Or I won't be so gentle

An older Vi struggled to look up, catching the guard one last time as he closed the door to her cell and left

Once she was alone, the girl spat out some blood before she fully collapsed on the floor

She could've sworn she had at least one or two broken ribs, and the cold surrounding her was nothing short of unforgiving

After a few minutes. She crawled her way to the wall and used it to sit up, leaning against it for support

A shaky breath left her split lip around the same time her eyes closed

"I'm okay"

...

"That's my girl"

She could hear the proud voice of her father as she mustered the strength to get back on her feet

Her entire body screamed in pain, it threatened to shut down on her if she continued with this ruthless approach

From across the barely illuminated room, her opponent watched

Vi weakly turned around and clenched the still functioning Atlas gauntlet in one hand, while discarding the other

Finally, she spat out one last time and raised her guard like she had learned to do so many years ago

Sevika growled at the sight of her opponent refusing to stay down, and with newfound determination, Vi decided to fight one last round

All the while she repeated to herself

"I'm okay"

...

"ᴠɪ? ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴏᴋᴀʏ?"

The girl flinched at the sound of the artificial voice calling out to her

Vi sat on the edge of a building as the Sun slowly made its presence known

Sitting by her side was her brother. Bandages wrapped around a good chunk of his body, and the voicebox he had, looked brand-new

Y/N cupped the side of her face while a worried gaze took over him

Vi closed her eyes when she felt his touch, but suddenly, her memory brought her back to the countless times the guards lent a much less caring touch

Acting out of instinct, Vi was quick to get ahold of Y/N's wrist and turned away from him

Y/N: ᴠɪ?

It didn't take long for her to realize what she was doing. More importantly, that she was no longer in that situation

So she let go with a heavy sigh

Vi: ... I'm sorry

She looked at him with pain and guilt in her eyes

Vi: Sorry

Y/N then looked at her with sympathetic eyes and pulled her into a hug. All the while, Vi felt tears falling down her face

Vi: ...I'm okay

The young man shook his head slightly, smiling as he embraced her. He knew the truth

Y/N: ɴᴏ, ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ

Vi felt herself crumble at those words, and with a shaky breath, she finally decided to hug him back

Vi: No, I'm not...

She buried her head on his shoulder, and when she felt his tender hand caressing her hair, she tightened the hug

...

"ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ"